Chennai: The Agro-Met advisory to farmers via SMS has been successful in Tamil Nadu and Puducherry, but the much-awaited SMS-App from the Indian Meteorological Department is yet to materialise. IMD officials say the ministry would soon launch a mobile app to disseminate information on the weather.
Speaking to Deccan Chronicle over phone from Delhi, Rahul Saxena, Scientist, numerical weather prediction department, IMD said that the IMD would launch its mobile app ‘Indian Weather’ around the second or third week of August. “We have upgraded the app recently to include 310 cities across the country,” he added.
According to Mr Saxena, the improvised app would provide details on thunderstorms, current weather and also predict the weather for the next four days. The app would be available free of cost and the users of Android, Windows and Blackberry mobiles could download them. It would not be available on the IOS platform.
The Met department hosted a mobile app last year with weather data for 200 cities, but due to some issues the app did not find favour with the public. On the contrary, the Agro-Met services provided by the Tamil Nadu Agricultural University (TNAU) and Agro Meteorological Field Unit have been successful.
Dr S. Panneerselvam, head, Agro Climate Research Centre, TNAU said that the agricultural university has been issuing weather advisory every Tuesday and Friday for the registered users. “About 1.13 lakh farmers residing in Tirupur, Coimbatore and Erode benefit from our information,” he added.
Apart from the agro advisory, the SMS also provides warning on the general weather. The latest advisory talks about the forthcoming heavy rainfall in the western belt and advises people in the hilly areas to stay safe. “We have also advised farmers to provide support to banana and sugarcane plants, as we experience unusual winds now,” he further said.
